# Manacles, shackles, neck...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767 "2011-10-15T23:16:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/1 "2011-10-15T23:16:33Z")
I think of manacles as shackles that go around the wrists, and shackles as irons that go around the ankles. Is there a term for neck shackles? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/2 "2011-10-15T23:26:02Z")
Collar. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/3 "2011-10-16T00:25:06Z")
Manacales, Shackles, … Neckle? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/4 "2011-10-16T18:06:34Z")
Jougs. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/5 "2011-10-16T18:36:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I think of manacles as shackles that go around the wrists, and shackles as irons that go around the ankles. Shackles is the general term. Manacles go around the wrists, and fetters go around the ankles. > [@](#): > > Is there a term for neck shackles? A check of various dictionaries suggests there isn’t a specific term for a neck restraint aside from collar. There might be an obsolete or archaic one. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/6 "2011-10-16T18:39:58Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Jougs. [Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jougs) agrees, though its use seems to be limited to Scotland. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/7 "2011-10-16T18:59:43Z")
Is anyone even just a tiny bit curious about why he wants to know? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chaos.Incubus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaos.incubus/32/11677_2.png) [@Chaos.Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chaos.Incubus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2022, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/8 "2022-08-06T09:32:14Z")
Im currently writing something and the excat same question came up 😏 ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/9 "2022-08-06T14:02:40Z")
Welcome to the SDMB ! (If you need a proof reader, I’m available !) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/10 "2022-08-06T15:17:48Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > If you need a proof reader I hope that you are planning to refashion the _rest_ of the sentence around the ex-cat. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2022, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/11 "2022-08-07T10:26:18Z")
> [@Chaos.Incubus](#): > > Im currently writing something and the excat same question came up Welcome to the SDMB. We are here to fight ignorance. We are happy that you learned something you didn’t know. We hope you will stay, and contribute your own knowledge to the community. > [@Riemann](#): > > around the ex-cat. This is a place for serious discussion, and silly jokes like this one. Very often you get both in the same thread. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manacles-shackles-neck/599767/12 "2022-08-08T14:12:03Z")
The _Oxford English Dictionary_ lists the following terms, most of them archaic, obsolete, or dialectal. Seems like _collar_ is the only current, specific term for a neck restraint. - _carcan_ (obsolete) – An iron collar used for punishment. - _collar_ – A band of iron or other metal fixed round the neck of prisoners, worn as a badge of servitude, etc. - _jougs_ (Scottish) – An old Scottish instrument of punishment, analogous to the pillory; it consisted of an iron collar, which was locked round the culprit’s neck, and was attached by a chain to a wall or post. - _shackle_ (Old English) – a ring or collar for the neck of a prisoner - _sweor-cops_ (obsolete) – A… collar… to secure a prisoner. - _thew_ (obsolete) – Name of an instrument or apparatus of punishment ordained, instead of the pillory, for women; often identified with the cucking-stool. Also in comb. thewpenny (cf. burghal-penny). The med.L. equivalent was collistrigium, i.e. an iron collar compressing and confining the neck. - _witch’s bridle_ – an iron collar and gag formerly used as an instrument of torture in Scottish witch-trials